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W. P. GILLESPIE.

wr'LLIMr. ACHILLEsprit,ofiylsniv FRANCISCO, .'cnLIronNiA,

. snoErsoLE.

. l A. Application ledvsepteniber v28, 191.8..v Serial No. 256,128.

To @Zlio/wm it, may concern: x

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. GILLESPIE,

a citizen' ofthelUnitedStates, residing at s. San Francisco, in the county of San Franf cisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Soles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in soles for boots and shoes, the object of the invention being to provide a sole which, while equally flexible, will be more durable in use than those heretofore provided, will be comparatively inexpensive in material and labor, and will be very resistant to moisture. In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a shoe equipped with my invention; Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 are enlarged detail sectional views on the lines 2-2, 3 3, 4,-4, 5 5 of Fig. 1.

On referring to the drawing it will be seen that the upper portion 1 of the sole of the shoe is of the usual form, although the sole in general may be made thinner than has been heretofore common.

To the under side of leather portion 1 of the sole are secured thin plates 2, 3, 4, 5 in a vertical series. While four of these are here shown, the number may be varied. All of these plates are of the same contour as the leather sole. The upper plates 2, 3, extend under the entire sole proper but do not extend into any portion of the heel, while the lower plates 4, 5 extend for a distance of about oneinch in length into the heel 6, the obj ect of this extension being to connect the heel portion with the shank portion of the sole portion in such a manner that there will be less danger of said sole breaking at the juncture of the heel and the shank. These plates are ofv varying thickness, the upper plates being thinner than the lower, Since they are required to be more flexible to yield with the bending of the foot. An average thickness of the plates would be, for the uppermost plate .O02 of an inch; for the next lower plate .003 of an inch; for the next lower plate .004 of an inch; and for the lowermost plate .006 of an inch.

To the heel are likewise secured plates 7, 8, 9, 10, the upper two plates being of the thickness of .004 of Van inch; the next lower plate .006 of an inch; and the lowermost plate .008 of an inch. All the plates are made of spring steel,fpreferably vanadiumor other very hard steel.

. Said plates-are v`secured both to the soleH 'and heel by screws 11 extending through all the plates of each series and screwed into the sole or heel according to their location. To permit of the sole being equally as exible as an ordinary sole holes through which the screws extend are, inthe front portions only of the series of plates 2, 3, 4, 5, elongated longitudinally as shown at l2, the slots 12 in the front part of the sole being of somewhat greater length than those in the portion of the sole next to the shank. These slots permit the front portions of the plates to slide relatively' to leach other and to the sole 2, so as to permit said sole 2 to readily bend.

I substitute for the leather in the rear upper part of the heel a block 13 of steel. Said block is screwed in place between the leather heel 6 and the plates 7, 8, 9, 10, *by means of comparatively long screws 14. The greatest wear is upon the heel, and should the heel plates wear out, it is very desirable to have a heel which will then resist the wear as strongly as possible. Moreover the block can be removed and another substituted .when too much worn.

The front or toe portion of the leather sole is cut away or recessed, and there is secured in said recessra steel toe plate 16, of, say, one-eighth of an inch in thickness, which extends over the front ends of the plates 2, 3, 4, 5, and is secured to the leather sole 1 by screws 11 passing through the toe plate 16, slots 12 in the front ends of the sole plates 2, 3, 4, 5, and is screwed into the front end of the sole 1. Said toe plate is 'formed with a vertical front portion of, say, onesixteenth of an inch in thickness, which extends around the edge of the front portion of the leather sole to protect the same.

The lowermost sole plate 5 and heel plate 10 are formed with downward projections 17, which give them a good gripping surface to prevent the slipping of the boot or shoe.

On account of the shoe sole being provided on the bottom with plates of hardened steel, said sole is very durable, and since a number of very thin Vplates are used, and since they are so attached to the leather sole that the front portions can easily move longitudinally relatively to said leather sole, they can easily bend thereover, and thus the Ycoinpound sole soformed is equally as flexibleas a leather sole. Furthermore said steelhplates..V

I claim A l. A shoe sole having a series of superposed thin metal plates ixedly secured to each other at their rear portions, front portions being secured so as to be movable longitudinally relatively to each other.

2. A shoe sole having a series of super- -posed thin metal plates increasing progressively in thikness downward.

3. A` leather shoe sole having a series of superposed thin metal plates, and screws screwed into the leather sole and fXedly securing the rear portions of said plates thereto, the front portions of the plates having slots through Which screws extend thereby relative movementgof the sole and plates is permitted. r

WILLIAM. GILLESPIE.

Copies of this,v patent may be obtained for ve cents eaeh, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents;

. Washington, D; Ci 

